Q7 (majer): Ecriture feminine according to Helene Cixous (on the basis of "The Laugh of the Medusa" and Pamela's description of Cixous's work) Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is ecriture feminine according to Helene Cixous?
- a uniquely feminine style of writing characterized by disruptions in the text (e.g. gaps, puns, etc.)
- eccentric, incomprehensible and inconsistent
- joyous free play of meanings
- “originates” from mother-child relation, before the phallocentric language
What is pallocentric language?
- male-centered verbal language
- used for writing history
What are Cixous’s thoughts on the general idea of a woman?
- no general woman –> individualism, everyone is different
What are Cixous’s thoughts on female writing?
- she does not want to generalize on the characteristics of female writing but rather stress the importance of women taking action
- women cannot avoid using male language but they have to speak and make their name their own
What is Cixous’s idea of the multiplicity of female sexuality?
- “I too overflow”
- while the masculine sexuality finds its locus in the penis, woman’s sexuality is cosmic
On what levels is women’s writing important?
1) PERSONAL: takes back the body from a solely sexual object
2) HISTORICAL: by writing, women enter history
How is woman’s imaginary inexhaustible?
A woman is capable of giving = losing a part of herself without losing her integrity
What reason Cixous gives for the women’s oppression from the hands of men?
- it is caused by male fear of women and their power
- women are considered dark, dangerous, and passive
What does the title “The Laugh of the Medusa” mean?
- Medusa = unfairly punished goddess
- defeated by Perseus (she becomes a symbol of male dominance)
- the laughter symbolises Medusa (–>women) embracing and owning her situation, refusing to be silent and dominated
According to Cixous what is the way to break with patriarchal tradition?
- it can be done through THE BODY (joy, experimentation, admiration, etc.)
- maternal body = an example/symbol of connection and wholesess
In what way is Cixous’s essay a deconstruction?
- it dismantles gender differences/oppossitions
- creates new order, not based on gender differences
What, in Pamela’s article, is Cixous theory of a “marked writing”?
- masculine writing mode
- women follow that mode but need to dismantle the sociaetal and cultural codes to enforce gender equality
With what does Cixous associate poetry?
poetry = example of feminine writing since poetry is linked with the unconscious
What does Pamela claim of Cixous’s idea of a “new woman”?
- a “new woman” is omnipresent and desires everything
What does Cixous mean in stating that a “feminine text is volcanic”?
- it is a product of a liberating gesture of flight
- full of subversions and poetic language, chaotic
- elusive in terms of categorization
- mulltiple, organic, bodily
